Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday directed the Railway Board to undertake immediate measures to address train derailments and eliminate all the Unmanned Level Crossings in a year's time, after three trains jumped tracks on Thursday.
He further directed the Board officials to expedite the procurement of new rails to complete laying of tracks in pending projects. He also asked the Railway Board to divert rails marked for construction of new lines at stretches prone to accidents, and where replacement was due.
He issued these directions in a high-level meeting on safety in train operations with the members of the Railway Board and officials of its Safety Directorate.
The meeting was convened after two trains derailed on Thursday in Sonbhadra, Uttar Pradesh, and in New Delhi. The third derailment of the day occurred near Khandala in Maharashtra soon after the meeting ended.
Goyal also instructed the board to install anti-fog LED lights in locomotives to ensure unhindered and safe train operations during winter.
Goyal, who assumed office after the exit of his predecessor Suresh Prabhu following a string derailments, also said the process of replacing old coaches with modern LBH bogies should be speeded up.
(with inputs from PTI and IANS)
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